5 Tips Parents Can Use To Improve Their Children Math Skills During The Summer

Tricia Salerno’s passion is teaching students, teachers, math coaches, curriculum directors and yes, even parents, how math can be fun. As the math coach at Benchmark School in Arizona, Tricia was looking for a “better way” to engage students with their learning and instill a love of math. In her research she found Singapore’s Third Edition of Primary Mathematics. As an early adopter, Benchmark used the U.S. version of the curriculum, which included textbooks and workbooks, however teachers’ manuals were not available at that time. The Benchmark team dug in and really learned what Singapore Math® programs were all about. The lack of Teacher's Guides and the huge differences in the Singapore teaching method made the first year a little rough, but test scores testified the efficacy of the program. Through this experience, Salerno and her team learned just how important effective Professional Development was for the Singapore approach.
There was media attention in the Phoenix area and requests from other schools to help them implement Singapore Math® programs. As they say, the rest is history. Tricia, along with a core group of teachers, left Benchmark in 2007 to spread the word. In 2008, Tricia formedSMARTTraining, LLC working with schools in the U.S., South America, Bermuda, Switzerland, and, via webinar, Thailand and China.
Here are my five tips parents can use to improve their children math skills during the summer:
1. Talk to your children every day about how math helps people in their everyday lives. Whether it be cooking, building, estimating how much groceries will cost, or counting cash to use at a restaurant, math is used all the time.
2. Have an old fashioned analog clock prominently displayed in your home and ask your child, "What time is it?" several times a day.
3. Make a game out of mental math. "Can you add the digits on the car's license plate in front of us?" "That speed limit sign says 45 miles per hour. Can you think of an addition/subtraction/multiplication/division number sentence where 45 is the answer?"
4. Ask your child to count the change in your pocket or wallet. Consider allowing your child to keep the money if the amount given is correct.
5. Because visualization has been proven to aid in mathematical competence, ask your child to create a picture in his or her mind of a story you are telling. Then have your child describe the picture to you.
There was media attention in the Phoenix area and requests from other schools to help them implement Singapore Math® programs. As they say, the rest is history. Tricia, along with a core group of teachers, left Benchmark in 2007 to spread the word. In 2008, Tricia formedSMARTTraining, LLC working with schools in the U.S., South America, Bermuda, Switzerland, and, via webinar, Thailand and China.
Here are my five tips parents can use to improve their children math skills during the summer:
1. Talk to your children every day about how math helps people in their everyday lives. Whether it be cooking, building, estimating how much groceries will cost, or counting cash to use at a restaurant, math is used all the time.
2. Have an old fashioned analog clock prominently displayed in your home and ask your child, "What time is it?" several times a day.
3. Make a game out of mental math. "Can you add the digits on the car's license plate in front of us?" "That speed limit sign says 45 miles per hour. Can you think of an addition/subtraction/multiplication/division number sentence where 45 is the answer?"
4. Ask your child to count the change in your pocket or wallet. Consider allowing your child to keep the money if the amount given is correct.
5. Because visualization has been proven to aid in mathematical competence, ask your child to create a picture in his or her mind of a story you are telling. Then have your child describe the picture to you.